Staff lawyers at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission are appealing an administrative judge's decision to strike down antitrust charges against Rambus. On Friday, the FTC's Web site published a notice filed Monday by a lawyer at the FTC's Bureau of Competition, saying the bureau intends to appeal a decision by an FTC administrative judge. In February, Judge Stephen J. McGuire dismissed FTC charges that Rambus tried to unfairly monopolize the memory-chip market.

FTC Fight

FTC commissioners will now decide whether to grant the appeal, according to an FTC spokeswoman. The FTC sued Rambus, of Los Altos, California, in June 2002, charging the company with violating federal antitrust laws by engaging in a pattern of anticompetitive acts and practices that served to deceive an industrywide standard-setting organization, resulting in adverse effects on competition and consumers.